‘Told me a year ago’: Red Bull promise proof Ricciardo never stood a chance

Daniel Ricciardo’s successor Liam Lawson has shared details of a Red Bull promise that proved the beloved Aussie never stood a chance.

Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement Liam Lawson has revealed he has known for a year he was a strong chance of getting a mid-season call up to an F1 seat.

Lawson filled in for an injured Ricciardo for five races last season but will get another crack at the big time when the F1 season resumes this weekend at the United States Grand Prix in Texas.

Every qualifying session and race from the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

It’s been nearly a month since Ricciardo was unceremoniously sacked by Red Bull following an emotional farewell race at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lawson is just the 10th New Zealander to drive in F1. The 22-year-old hasn’t yet been guaranteed a full-time 2025 seat with VCARB, so he’ll be out to impress in the last six races of the season.

“That’s literally once, obviously once in a lifetime. And it’s something that I need to take with both hands. So I got a shot last year,” Lawson told the F1 Nation podcast.

“I knew it was temporary last year. That was about trying to give myself a shot full time at getting a seat. And now I’ve got it.”

This time last year it was heartbreak for Lawson, with Drive to Survive capturing the brutal moment Red Bull boss Christian Horner told him he wouldn’t have a seat in 2024.

But now Lawson has revealed the Red Bull team principal assured him he would be driving in F1 at some point throughout the year. As it turns out, Horner and Red Bull kept their promise.

Liam Lawson finally gets his chance. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Daniel Ricciardo was given the flick midseason. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

“The idea of me jumping in is something that Christian told me a year ago,” Lawson told F1 Nation.

“And when I stepped out of the car, that was one of the things he said to me is that, he said, ‘I give you my word, I’ll basically have you in a race seat at some point next year’.

“So I always knew that was the intention. And it’d been talked about.

“But I mean, Formula One is a rollercoaster and every weekend things change. So one minute it looks really good and then it doesn’t look good. And it’s all depending on how the guys are actually going.

“And it’s a bit horrible to be honest because you’re kind of sitting there wondering what your chances are of driving it, and it completely depends on how the guys that are currently driving are doing. And you don’t obviously want somebody’s downfall to be your way in.

“But if it’s for me to drive, somebody has to leave, obviously.

“So there was no clear route of where that was going to be though. So it wasn’t like in 12 months time, you’re going to switch with this person. It was in 12 months time, ‘we’re going to have you a seat, but we just don’t know where yet’.

“So that was kind of where throughout the year the discussions were being had. And it was only, it was actually Baku time where Christian finally told me that I’d be jumping in.”

Lawson was promised a drive this year. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

The revelation is intriguing in light of Horner’s recent comments where he suggested he tried to keep Ricciardo in F1 as long as he could.

Ricciardo’s sacking was triggered by a clause in Lawson’s contract stipulating he had to drive the last six races of the season.

Lawson recently spoke about the awkward reality of being told he’d be replacing Ricciardo a couple of weeks before the Aussie was forced to front the media in Singapore without his fate being publicly known.

“I respect massively how he dealt with it,” Lawson told Sky Sports.

“He’s never made it feel like we were in competition since last year when I jumped in after his wrist.

“He’s always been good to me, in more ways than what most people will know, even just little things within the team.

“It wasn’t a great feeling in Singapore. When I left the track on Sunday, I went and saw him and I said, ‘I’m sorry for this whole situation because I know it sucks and it’s nothing against you’.”

Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar piastri swap helmets. Photo: Instagram, @danielricciardo.

Lawson said Ricciardo offered some words of wisdom in Singapore, in a typically classy act from the Aussie on his way out the door.

“He said, ‘Make the most of this opportunity because you get one shot at F1’. He wished me luck, which I respected massively.”

Ricciardo has been a class act in his departure from the sport. A photo of the 35-year-old swapping helmets with fellow Australian Oscar Piastri was a touching changing of the guard moment.

He has been offered an ambassadorial role with Red Bull amid speculation his exit could threaten his old team’s $35 million title sponsorship with Visa and CashApp.

It’s unclear if Ricciardo will attend the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, which gets underway on Monday at 6am AEDT.